Chapter 74: Chapter 73: The Layaway Program

Alex marched back to his office a defeated man. His speech to the VDF went over just about as he expected, and there was a lot of complaining from the troops. Truthfully, he couldn’t blame them.

This was an incredibly bad decision that would cause good people to die. It wasn’t a matter of if but only a matter of when. And when that day came, Alex didn’t want to be the one to have to give the news to the families but that was the burden of command.

No matter what decision was enacted by the Council, he had to carry it out.

The entire debacle put him in a foul mood but there was one stop he had to make before he called it a night. Alex used his P-com to check in with Vitale to make sure he was still in his laboratory and he prepared to meet him there. Before he could leave Biosphere Five though, he had to collect Kristina.

The beautiful android looked up at him with innocent eyes. “Is it time for us to go home already?”

“Already?” asked Alex, chuckling. “It’s been the longest day ever. I was ready for this day to end hours ago.”

Kristina let out a smile. “I guess I’ve just been getting caught up in the work that I forget how much time has passed. I find this stuff incredibly interesting.”

Alex was grateful that was the case. He had decided a few days ago to put Kristina to work as his unofficial deputy with the VDF. Since being in command always meant doing a mountain of paperwork, Kristina was the one that helped him get through it with the least amount of time investment. She was also the one that designed the current rotational schedule, putting her immense computing power to work to come up with something that was equally fair for everyone.

In short, she was a great deputy and Alex found himself using her more and more for his command.

“At least someone finds mountains of paperwork interesting,” joked Alex. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Turning off the lights in the VDF headquarters, Alex and Kristina made their way to Vitale’s lab, finding the mad scientist of Vesta working on another I-Mate. The cranial compartment was open and he looked to be soldering something to the inner components.

“Ah, there you are, Alex,” said Vitale, putting the solder down. He turned to look at Kristina. “Kristina, still as lovely as ever.”

“Careful, Vitale,” warned a playful Kristina. “We don’t want Tabby or Tammy to get jealous now, do we?”

“Absolutely not, that’s why it’s our little secret,” replied Vitale, winking at her. He then turned to Alex. “Isn’t she magnificent? My greatest creation!”

“She’s definitely impressive all right,” replied Alex. “A total upgrade from what I had before, with the original I-Mate package. I use her to help me with the VDF, and she does the job spectacularly. Of course, it also manages to piss off Belladonna in the process.”

Vitale rolled his eyes. “What is that witch pissed about now?”

“She doesn’t have a high opinion of you and your ‘creations,’” joked Alex. “The last word I heard her use was ‘tasteless.’ Frankly, I really enjoy throwing it in her face too, especially the fact that Kristina is a woman. Her being technically an android is how I get around the woman ban in the VDF.”

Vitale started to laugh. “Anything that pisses off Belladonna is A-okay in my book. Can you believe that woman tried to get my lab shut down? She claimed I was a public nuisance and that this space could be better used to house a theater for all the Vestans. Like we don’t have enough space to put a theater.”

“Sounds like the Belladonna we all know and hate,” replied Alex.

Vitale nodded his head. “Truly. But hey, get this. So I have another order for an I-Mate just like Kristina. This one is from a paying customer!”

Alex arched an eyebrow. “How did that happen?”

“Someone saw Kristina and came to my lab to inquire about it,” replied Vitale. “A nice guy, someone who’s been a colonist here for a long time. One of the very few that’s not married. I showed him Tabby and let him interact with her for a bit and he was hooked. He’s paying for his own I-Mate with the personality package I created. Can you believe that? It’s a financial windfall for me! And it’s not going to take too much to make, and that’s what I’m working on right now.”

Alex looked down at the I-Mate on the workbench. “That’s pretty cool, Vitale. Have you ever thought about monetizing it any further?”

“Like more I-Mates? With the personality package?”

“Yeah, but they wouldn’t be I-Mates any longer,” replied Alex. “They’d be whatever you wanted to call them. Think about how popular the I-Mates are now that they’re brand new technology and your upgrade makes them even better. This could be the start of a business for you, Vitale. You could make some serious money on it.”

Vitale started to rub his chin. “Interesting. Very interesting, Alex. I could turn this into a business. Of course, I’d need more I-Mate bodies but those can be ordered and they can come in with the quarterly trade ships. Hmm, that’s an idea worth exploring!”

Alex chuckled. “Glad I could give you some food for thought.”

“That you did! Some very tasty food at that. I’ll keep you posted on what happens with it. Anyway, what’s up? Your message didn’t say why you wanted to meet. What’s going on?”

Alex took a deep breath. “About that, I was hoping to ask you for another favor. And I know it’s not going to be an easy one to grant but I’m out of options.”

“Well, if it’s in my power, I can make it happen, Alex. What’s it for?”

“The sensors,” said Alex quietly. “I need more of them. A lot more and I can’t pay for them.”

Alex took the next few minutes to explain about the nightly mine shift and how he was hoping to get more sensors to cover the approaches to the mines. He also told Vitale about Belladonna’s response to his request for more sensors.

Vitale winced at the end of the request. “That’s the biggest problem I have though, Alex. I can’t pay for the raw materials to make these anymore. I need funding to do this. The first five were one matter but what you’re asking for is hundreds of these sensors. I can’t eat that out of pocket.”

“I understand completely,” replied Alex. “And I’m not asking you to work for free. I’m just hoping we can come to some kind of arrangement to get them before I have the credits available to pay for them. I want to offer you my salary as a councilor and as the head of the VDF to pay for the sensors we need. At least until I can secure more traditional funding.”

Vitale’s eyes went wide. “Your salary? But Alex, how are you going to live without it? You’re still new here so don’t take it the wrong way when I say you can’t exactly be swimming in money right now.”

That was quite an understatement. Part of the deal with coming to Vesta was that the cost of his passage was born out of any taxed income he made while on the planet. Until the passage was paid off, Alex’s wages were garnered, much like the other colonists. It would take some time for all the new arrivals to earn enough to pay off that debt, meaning they were perpetually short on funds in the short term.

“I have enough that I can survive on for now,” replied Alex. “Getting those sensors is more important than me though, Vitale. This is for the safety of Vesta. And I won’t be able to sleep at night knowing that I’m not doing everything possible to protect all these new miners and the VDF assigned to protect them. So I have to think a little drastically now.”

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Vitale mulled the idea over for a few minutes before he responded. “I don’t like it that much, Alex. Your salary will only go so far. Maybe a couple dozen new units? But if you want more than that, we need another source of funding.”

“I’m going to keep working on the Council to make that happen,” replied Alex. “It’s just that funds are so tight right now that I’m not making much headway. But I’ll take a couple dozen units over nothing.”

Vitale kept thinking the idea over before he had an idea.

“Okay, bear with me about this,” said Vitale finally. “I’m not going to take your entire salary. You need something to live on too. Why don’t you keep the salary as commander of the VDF for now? I’ll purchase what materials I can based off of this new deal I just made for the I-Mate.”

“But Vitale, that’s coming out of your own pocket. I’m not asking you to pay for this.”

Vitale shook his head. “No, you’re not. And this isn’t a gift. Consider it more of a loan. Think of it as a layaway program. I’ll get you what you need right now as long as you’ll be good for the money in the future. I’ll do as much as I can with the resources and the funding that I currently have while you work on getting funding secured for the future.”

Alex could barely contain himself. He rushed forward and embraced Vitale, patting his back heartily and making the mad scientist laugh.

“I owe you big time, Vitale,” said Alex. “You don’t know what this means to me. Even if it saves one life, this will be worth it.”

Vitale continued to chuckle. “This day keeps getting more interesting. I have a new business venture and become a loan shark in the process. I never thought my life would turn out this way!”

“I will find a way to make sure you get paid for everything you make,” replied Alex. “You can count on that.”

“I know you will, Alex. You’re one of the good ones. I have to admit when I heard that a colony ship of former convicts was coming to Vesta, I was very apprehensive about our prospects. But you’ve managed to change my perspective.”

“I just hope I can keep delivering on that,” said Alex. “How soon do you think you can get me new units?”

“If I put Tabby, Tammy, and myself on working on it, I can probably get you the first dozen in three days’ time. Does that work?”

Alex couldn’t contain his grin. “You’re a real lifesaver, Vitale. You’re a damn hero.”

Vitale turned a deep shade of red. “Well, shucks, it’s nothing, I suppose!”

*****

“Man, that’s great news,” said Rick. “The troops will be glad to know more sensors are on the way.”

It was just a little while later that Alex was telling Rick, Nikki, and Michelle about his discussion with Vitale over dinner. While Alex left out the details of Vitale’s new business venture, he didn’t hesitate to let them know he was only in this position because of Belladonna’s shortsightedness.

“I keep telling Rick that,” said Nikki. “It’s only going to take a big attack or something like that to change that woman’s mind. And maybe even that won’t work. She’s so delusional that she won’t even care.”

“I have the same fears, Nikki,” said Alex. “If we can prevent that day from coming, all the better. The extra sensors are a big stride forward but there’s so much else I want to do. Right now, I fear I won’t ever get to do them.”

They kept talking about the state of Vesta until well after dinner was over. By that time, they were nursing cups of Vestan Ale as the sun was starting to set.

That was when they received a visitor. Nikki went to answer the door, and one look at the camera made her wrinkle her nose.

“Well, that’s unexpected,” she said before she opened the door. “Hi, Jenna!”

Sure enough, Jenna stepped into the unit and smiled at Nikki. “Hey, Nikki. Sorry for intruding. I just wanted to see if you were free by any chance. Are you in the middle of something?”

With those last words, Jenna’s gaze moved over to the table. She saw Alex and her expression instantly changed from one of happiness to one with much less emotion.

Nikki picked up on the change quickly. “Oh, I’m sorry, Jenna. I’m free tomorrow morning if you are.”

Jenna’s gaze returned to Nikki. “Yeah . . . yeah, that’s fine . . .”

“Hold on,” said Alex, as he stood from the table. “Jenna, you can stay here. There’s always something more I can be doing in the commander’s office. I can take off.”

Both Nikki and Rick managed to look unsure of what to say. They had the looks of children who were thoroughly caught in the middle of two feuding parents.

“Are you sure, Alex?” asked Rick.

“It’s totally fine,” replied Alex as he made for the door. Along the way, he stopped to drink in Jenna’s appearance. She still looked just as lovely as ever. She wasn’t meeting his gaze but then again, he didn’t expect her to.

“I’ll see all of you soon,” said Alex as he gave them a little wave. For Jenna, he tried something different.

“You look . . . beautiful tonight by the way,” he whispered to her. “Just couldn’t leave without saying that.”

He didn’t expect a response from her, and he didn’t stay long enough to receive one. His heavy footsteps walked away from Biosphere Eight and he didn’t stop until he got to the commander’s office, where he threw himself into his work.

At least there, he could outrun the memory of Jenna. For a short time, that is.

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